Introduction - Ubiquitous Positioning - page 2

and to make things simple for people by delivering views of the real world that are
at least as good as the views computer games deliver in the virtual world.
“Whereness” will be used throughout this topic as a convenient proxy for the
rather verbose terminology “ubiquitous positioning.” It has been coined by the
author and many of his colleagues to encapsulate everything about accurate
ubiquitous positioning technology, business, and their consequences. This topic
starts with today's technologies but also explains about the future. Today people
use the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) in sat-navs, and they have
access to many existing maps and images that have been repackaged by various
Web organizations. In the future, however, there will be many new radio, sensor,
mapping, and computing technologies that will be used together. To help
understand what we mean by Whereness, it might be helpful to consider a simple
scenario.
For example, if I am meeting some people in an unfamiliar venue, although I
could find the place on a Web map that corresponds to the postal address I have
been given, it may not be obvious which actual building to enter, where to enter
the building, where to go once inside, and so on. Could I check on the progress of
my colleagues or know if the meeting is not viable due to some unexpected
transport or security emergency? If my map-reading abilities are poor, then could
I hope to see where to go as a real-world view similar to that generated in a
computer game? If my vision is poor, then could some other media be used
involving sound or touch?
From this simple scenario, we can see that for positioning to be ubiquitous
(that is available absolutely everywhere), it must include working inside the built
environment. The accuracy must be adequate to show unambiguously where
people are located within a campus, a building, a room, as well as outside in the
street, in the country, in a vehicle traveling, underground, or indeed, anywhere
else. As well as location, the more general concept of position needs to be
considered. Position includes orientation and is sometimes important. For
example, is the person I want to meet heading towards me or in a direction away
from me? Is my elderly parent suddenly horizontal because of a fall?
The position of objects as well as people is also sometimes important,
especially if they are very valuable and keeping track of objects' positions can
help prevent crime, improve safety, and manage logistics efficiently. Ubiquitous
positioning will have an important part to play in managing a world that is getting
less predictable as the climate changes and can also be a key element in the
management of scarce resources and providing greater security in the face of new
global threats. To give a flavor of the potential of Whereness, a number of
scenarios and applications of its importance to the future will be discussed briefly,
all of which will be explained in more depth later.
Obesity is a crisis facing the developed world. Whereness can help improve
health and well-being as personal exercise will be monitored based on the actual
physical movements people are making day to day. Footsteps and climbing will be